Physical Activity in the News 9.6-9.13

Digital Journal, September 13, 2013
During Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM), as the nation honors the rich histories, cultures and contributions of the Hispanic community, the American Diabetes Association (Association) is proud to join in the celebration by promoting physical activity and healthy habits in an effort to Stop Diabetes. The Association will kick off HHM with numerous events across the country, focusing on physical activity and raising awareness of the risk factors of diabetes.

Associated Press, September 12, 2013
Glued to your desk at work? Cross that off the list of excuses for not having the time to exercise. A growing number of Americans are standing, walking and even cycling their way through the workday at treadmill desks, standup desks or other moving workstations. Others are forgoing chairs in favor of giant exercise balls to stay fit. Walking on a treadmill while making phone calls and sorting through emails means "being productive on two fronts," said Andrew Lockerbie, senior vice president of benefits at Brown & Brown, a global insurance consulting firm.

Teens Tout Both Mental and Physical Benefits of Exercise in New StudyEducation Week, September 12, 2013
When encouraging teenagers to exercise, parents and school staff don't have to only play up the physical benefits. Teens are equally aware of the mental perks of exercise, according to a new study from a professor at Concordia University. The study tapped a total of 1,096 students from six public and private high schools in Montreal. The participants were separated into 123 focus groups based on grade level, sex, and school type, then asked about the perceived outcomes of their involvement in sports and/or physical activity.

Medical News Daily, September 12, 2013Researchers say that physical fitness in children can boost their memory and learning abilities, particularly when initially learning a task that is more challenging. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, was conducted by Lauren Raine and colleagues from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study involved 48 children aged 9 and 10-years-old. On the first day, a test was carried out to measure the children's aerobic fitness. This involved conducting a maximal oxygen consumption test, which was done while the children carried out physical activity on a treadmill.

Lowering a woman's risk of developing endometrial cancer may be as simple as working out and maintaining a healthy weight. Researchers who looked at global studies on diet, activity and weight as they pertained to the cancer of the uterus' lining, discovered that three out of every five cases of endometrial cancer in the U.S. -- about 60 percent -- could have been prevented if affected women had maintained a normal weight and sufficient physical activity levels. The report, titled "Continuous Update Project: Preventing Endometrial Cancer," is part of an on-going project by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund International.

Strenuous exercise seems to dull the urge to eat afterward better than gentler workouts, several new studies show, adding to a growing body of science suggesting that intense exercise may have unique benefits. As readers of this column know, short, intense workouts, usually in the form of intervals that intersperse bursts of hard effort with a short recovery time, have become wildly popular lately, whether the sessions last for four minutes, seven minutes or slightly longer. Studies have found that such intense training, no matter how abbreviated, usually improves aerobic fitness and some markers of health, including blood pressure and insulin sensitivity, as effectively as much longer sessions of moderate exercise. What has not been clear, though, is whether interval training could likewise also aid in weight control.

DailyRx.com, September 11, 2013
The risk for various health problems increases with age. But there are steps people can take to help minimize these risks, and exercise seems to be one of those steps. In a recent study, researchers examined the relationship between long-term exercise and many common illnesses such as weight gain, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and dementia. After reviewing multiple studies that documented patients' health over the years, the researchers found that patients who exercised regularly were less at risk for these illnesses in comparison to patients who did not exercise regularly.

Top Health and Wellness Expert Turns Diet and Weight Loss Industry Upside Down by Announcing a New Automated Health and Wellness SystemZAG Coaching Ltd. Press Release, September 11, 2013
ZAG Coaching Ltd. health and wellness company introduces the new ‘Automate To Dominate Your Health and Wellness’ program. Going against the traditional segregated diet and exercise approach, it is the first of its kind to take into account the Mind, Body, Diet and Environment to help with permanent weight loss and muscle gain. One of the core concepts of the program is to first start with the mind, instead of focusing on being overweight, out of shape or lacking motivation. “These are symptoms of a greater issue,” states CEO, Luke Charlton. By finding what motivates someone on a deep level to eat healthily, exercise, and eliminate the root cause of being overweight or out of shape, ZAG Coaching Ltd. manages to get away from ‘yo-yo’ results and move toward creating a long-lasting healthy life.

Humble: Policies, Not Brochures, Key to Fighting ObesityMaricopa Monitor- Arizona, September 10, 2013
Combating a national obesity epidemic 20 years in the making requires more than just passing out brochures, Arizona’s top health official said Wednesday. What’s needed, said Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is policies changing the environment in which people make decisions about diet and exercise. That can range from creating bike-friendly neighborhoods to toughening nutrition requirements for those accepting food stamps, he said. “If you don’t make it the easy choice, it won’t be the choice people make,” Humble said in an interview with Cronkite News

Serena Williams, Ashton Eaton, Paul Rodriguez & More Promote 'Let's Move! Active Schools InitiativeBroadway World, September 9, 2013
As kids across the United States head back to school this month, Nike athletes Serena Williams, Ashton Eaton, Paul Rodriguez, Sarah Reinertsen, Allyson Felix and Colin Kaepernick are front and center, talking about the importance of their early experiences with physical activity in school and urging individuals and communities to sign up their schools to be Active Schools through the Let's Move! Active Schools initiative. Serena Williams opens the one-minute public service announcement: "It was really important for me to get outside and play because I felt like I needed a break from the classroom. I loved going to school, but at the same time I wanted to be active." Each athlete gives a personal insight, including Colin Kaepernick, who says, "Anything you can do to help yourself be better in the future is something you want to do. And I think that's something that has helped me get to where I'm at today."

CDC Say U.S. Schools are HealthierApp.com, September 9, 2013
Schools across America are showing progress in key areas related to health, including nutrition, physical education and smoking, federal health officials reported Monday. The results of a 2012 comprehensive survey of school health policies showed some encouraging trends, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Schools play a critical role in the health and well-being of our youth,” CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in an agency news release. “Good news for students and parents — more students have access to healthy food, better physical fitness activities through initiatives such as ‘Let’s Move,’ and campuses that are completely tobacco-free,” he said.

Physical Activity State Highlights This Week:

Pennsylvania: Get Moving: The New Health Director Starts War on ObesityPittsburg Post-Gazette, September 13, 2013
Karen Hacker has barely settled into her new office at the Allegheny County Health Department, but the director hasn't wasted any time identifying a serious health problem that demands attention. During her first county health board meeting Wednesday, Dr. Hacker, a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School and head of a community health institute in Boston, proposed a much-needed obesity prevention initiative. She is off to a smart start. Dr. Hacker has taken note of unhealthy trends in her county and is proposing that residents join with her and increase the amount of physical activity they take up.

Iowa: Study Shows Relationship Between Obesity and P.E.Daily Iowan, September 12, 2013
Iowa City schools recognize that physical education is still a significantly important part of the district’s curriculum after President Obama recently declared September as National Obesity Awareness Month. While some states have requirements for the number of minutes students spend in PE classes, others require the class but do not have a minimum minute requirement. A study released last month found the majority of U.S. elementary schools do not meet state mandates for the number of minutes students should participate in physical education classes. “These minimum minute requirements helped to increase the amount of time in PE and reduce childhood obesity,” said David Frisvold, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Iowa and coauthor of the study. “These requirements did that, but compliance with these requirements was not perfect.”

Arizona: Obama’s LETS MOVE! Campaign Lands in TucsonArizona Athletics, September 11, 2013
Arizona women’s basketball head coach Niya Butts served as a host at First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Event at Marana Middle School in Marana, Ariz. on Wednesday. Coach Butts joined Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitation Services Michael Yudin, former Arizona men’s basketball coach Lute Olson, 2011 NCAA National Champion wrestler Anthony Robles, UA alum/letter winner and former NFL offensive lineman John Fina, Wilbur and Wilma T Wildcat and 17 district wellness coordinators in hosting the event. The event emphasized the power of healthy choices by showcasing a variety of fun and physical challenges. MMS Principal Kristin Reidy issued a “60 minutes for 60 days” physical activity challenge and lead students, staff and parents in a dance-off, relay races and various sporting activities.

District of Columbia: Temple Hills Teacher Named ‘Ambassador’ for Anti-Childhood Obesity CampaignWashington Post, September 11, 2013
Sarah Chaplin, a health teacher at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Prince George’s County, successfully launched a campaign to remove sugary drinks from her school. She has taught her students about healthy meal plans and has incorporated yoga into her lessons. And now she has been selected by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which was founded by American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, to serve as a healthy schools program ambassador. As an ambassador, Chaplin, along with a handful of other representatives from 18,000 schools that participate in the program, will be a national spokesperson for the alliance’s Healthy Schools Program.

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